1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle monitoring and messaging systems and, in particular, to a vehicle monitoring system and method capable of communicating a plurality of notification messages to warn users of impending arrivals of vehicles.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,020, entitled "Advance Notification System and Method," which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system and method for communicating notification messages to users to warn the users of impending arrivals of vehicles. In this regard, each vehicle associated with the system is equipped with a tracking sensor, which is used to determine the location of the vehicle. Location signals indicating the location of the vehicle as the vehicle travels are transmitted to a base station control unit, which monitors the travel of the vehicle. When the vehicle is within a predefined time or distance of a particular location, the base station control unit transmits a notification message to a user. Therefore, the user is warned of the impending arrival of the vehicle at the particular location.
However, the base station control unit may be used to monitor the travel of a large number of vehicles or may be used to warn a large number of users of impending arrivals of a vehicle or vehicles. Furthermore, servicing a large number of vehicles and/or users may result in the need to simultaneously transmit a large number of notification messages. Accordingly, the ability to efficiently process data for a large number of vehicles and/or users and to efficiently transmit a large number of notification messages is critical in many applications.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for better systems, apparatuses, and methods for accurately and efficiently tracking and/or reporting the status of mobile vehicles as the vehicles travel.